The Berger Collection Education Trust focuses almost exclusively on supporting art museums, major visual-arts institutions, and research libraries, providing unrestricted or general operating support to help sustain collections and public programming. Its grants favor established cultural institutions rather than grassroots arts groups, and it funds both local institutions (notably the Denver Art Museum) and prominent national museums and libraries.
Concentrated giving to a small set of established cultural institutions, with multiple repeat grants to the same organizations; award sizes skew large (mid-five- to six-figure grants) rather than numerous small gifts.
Notable grantees: Denver Art Museum, Portland Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, The Morgan Library, The Huntington Library
Berger Collection Education Trust Attn David Hayes gives almost entirely to major art museums, national visual-arts institutions, and research libraries, with support written as general operating or unrestricted help. The largest recent grant in the data is $163,500 to the Denver Art Museum in 2025, followed by repeated support to the same institution in 2024 and 2023. That pattern sits alongside another sustained museum relationship: Portland Museum of Art received $113,000 in 2024 and $111,500 in 2025, after a $110,000 grant in 2023. The trust’s recent grants show a preference for established cultural institutions that hold collections, present exhibitions, and maintain public programming, rather than project-specific awards to smaller arts groups. It also supports libraries with special collections, including The Morgan Library and Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Across the grants listed, the trust appears to use relatively large institutional grants to sustain core operations at a small set of recipients over multiple years.
In museum support, the trust gave $123,500 in 2024 and $121,000 in 2023 to the Denver Art Museum for support, indicating repeated backing for a major Denver institution. Portland Museum of Art also appears as a continuing recipient, with $113,000 in 2024 and $111,500 in 2025 for support. For national visual-arts institutions, the National Gallery of Art received $25,000 in 2025, $25,000 in 2024, and $20,000 in 2023. The trust also funds research and special-collections libraries: The Morgan Library received $30,000 in 2023, while The Huntington Library received $25,000 in 2023. These grants point to a narrow set of cultural institutions with ongoing operating support rather than a broad spread of program-area grants.
Typical grant sizes cluster at a higher institutional level: the 25th percentile is $25,000, the median is $70,000, and the 75th percentile is $115,000. The recent grants also show multi-year repeat funding to the same institutions, especially in Denver, Portland, and Washington, DC. The trust is structured as a foundation making grants, and it also makes program-related investments. Recipients are cultural institutions rather than individuals, and the grant language in the recent list is consistently “grant for support,” suggesting flexible operating-style funding rather than restricted project awards.
$306K
$23.4M
$206K
$427K
Most grants fall between $25K and $115K, with a median of $70K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$70K
75th Percentile
$115K
DAVID HAYES
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The trust gives nationally, and all 12 recent grants shown go to US recipients. Colorado is the top state by grant count, with 25% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state; Denver appears repeatedly through the Denver Art Museum. Other named recipient locations include Portland, Maine; Washington, DC; New York, New York; and San Marino, California. The pattern is nationally distributed but concentrated in a small number of major museum and library cities.
Its recent grants go to art museums, national visual-arts institutions, and research or special-collections libraries. The named recipients include major museums and libraries, and the grant language is consistently framed as support rather than project-specific funding.
The grant-size distribution is relatively high for institutional support: p25 is $25,000, median grant size is $70,000, and p75 is $115,000. Recent awards range from $20,000 to $163,500.
Yes. Although Colorado is the top state by grant count, the recent grants also go to recipients in Maine, New York, Washington, DC, and California. The geographic scope of giving is national, and the recipient-country distribution is entirely US-based.
Recurring support is a clear pattern. The Denver Art Museum appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Portland Museum of Art appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and the National Gallery of Art appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DENVER ART MUSEUM | DENVER, CO | $163,500 | 2025 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART | PORTLAND, ME | $111,500 | 2025 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART | WASHINGTON, DC | $25,000 | 2025 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| HENRY E HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY | SAN MARINO, CA | $5,500 | 2025 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| DENVER ART MUSEUM | DENVER, CO | $123,500 | 2024 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART | PORTLAND, ME | $113,000 | 2024 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART | WASHINGTON, DC | $25,000 | 2024 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| DENVER ART MUSEUM | DENVER, CO | $121,000 | 2023 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART | PORTLAND, ME | $110,000 | 2023 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| THE MORGAN LIBRARY | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2023 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY | SAN MARINO, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART | WASHINGTON, DC | $20,000 | 2023 | GRANT FOR SUPPORT |
DENVER ART MUSEUM
$163,500GRANT FOR SUPPORT
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
$111,500GRANT FOR SUPPORT
DENVER ART MUSEUM
$123,500GRANT FOR SUPPORT
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
$113,000GRANT FOR SUPPORT
DENVER ART MUSEUM
$121,000GRANT FOR SUPPORT
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
$110,000GRANT FOR SUPPORT